Third-quarter spurt lifts Southeast past Rochester

Southeast High School forced Rochester into 22 turnovers Friday night, and a big third period by the Spartans produced a 65-40 Central State Eight Conference victory at Scheffler Gymnasium.

The Spartans, who led 24-20 at halftime, missed their first six 3-pointers and made just nine of 34 (26.4 percent) field goals in the first half. But a quick 7-0 run that included five quick points from D’Angelo Hughes and a basket from freshman Aundrae Williams jump-started the third period as Southeast settled in and seized control.

“In the first half I thought the kids were amp-ed up and chasing their offense,” Southeast coach Lawrence Thomas said. “In the second half, we settled them down and they let their defense become their offense, and you saw the difference. I thought the kids really bought in to guarding hard and making it tough on Rochester.”

The Spartans (13-11 overall, 10-5 in the CS8) eventually outscored the Rockets 21-7 in the third quarter and took a 45-27 lead heading into the final period. Rochester’s first basket of the third came on a Dalton Handlin jumper with 4 minutes 35 seconds remaining in the period. Buckets then came few and far between as the Rockets finished 15-for-58 (.258) from the field, including 0-for-11 from 3-point range.

“We were lucky in the first half to only be down four,” Rochester coach Mike Steers said. “We had 12 turnovers in the first half. The third quarter killed us. (Southeast) came out and hit shots and picked up the pressure. We just didn’t make plays.”

Staying close

Despite the early turnovers, the Rockets played with the Spartans in the first half and led 18-15 when freshman Collin Stallworth scored late in the second period. Southeast answered when B.J. Hill converted a 3-point play, and Hughes knocked down back-to-back 3s to open up a 24-18 lead. Rochester senior Matt Swaine scored to cut the deficit to four at the half.

“When we played them a couple of weeks ago (a 46-37 Southeast win on Jan. 31), they kind of had their way with us, and our kids were prideful,” Thomas said. “They wanted to get after them this time and show them a different side than what they saw last game.”

The Rochester turnovers led to some easy baskets in the open court for Southeast. Hill, who scored 12 points, was the main recipient of the Rockets’ miscues, getting several baskets in the open court. Hughes finished with 11 points and three 3s, and Jalen Henry tossed in a game-high 15 points and grabbed 14 rebounds.

“We got some transition buckets, and once you get some transition buckets, you start feeling a lot better for yourself,” Thomas said.